The present invention relates to a cassette changer capable of storing a plurality of tape cassettes for a VCR or the like and sequentially operating these cassettes.
Cassette changers that store a plurality of cassettes and transfer these cassettes to a recording/reproducing device in an arbitrary order for recording or reproduction are applied to practical use chiefly in broadcasting stations or in computers for data recording. Cassette changers for broadcasting stations are called xe2x80x9ccart machinesxe2x80x9d and are expensive and large enough to each store several hundreds of cassettes. Small-sized cassette changers that each store several cassettes to record data in a computer are also put to practical use.
An example of known cassette changer is described in JP-A-6-20363. This cassette changer will be described below.
This known cassette changer has a recording/reproducing device for recording signals to a cassette including a tape-state recording medium and for reproducing the signals recorded in the cassette. A turntable is provided above the recording/reproducing device and can be rotated through 180 degrees around a rotating shaft extending in a vertical direction of the turntable. A first stocker and a second stocker are disposed for rotation integral with the turntable and at 180 degrees from each other with respect to the rotating shaft of the turntable. Each of the stockers can store a plurality of cassettes in the vertical direction.
A transfer device is provided which can move between the recording/reproducing device and the stockers in the vertical direction. This transfer device can transfer cassettes between the recording/reproducing device and one of the stockers which is located correspondently to the transfer device by means of rotation of the turntable. Specifically, the transfer device picks up one of the cassettes stored in the stocker, withdraws it thereinto, moves downward with the cassette held therein so as to face an insertion and withdrawal opening in the recording/reproducing device, and ejects the held cassette to the insertion and withdrawal port.
On the contrary, the transfer device can remove a cassette from the insertion and withdrawal opening of the recording/reproducing device, and then transfer it to the stocker.
In this manner, basic operations of cassette changers are performed, that is, an arbitrary cassette accommodated in one of the stockers is transferred to the recording/reproducing device and a cassette for which recording or reproduction has been completed is transferred to a desired position in one of the stockers.
In this known cassette changer, however, upon external vibration or impact after installation, a cassette stored in the first or second stocker may shift from its specified storing positions. In this case, when the transfer device moves in the vertical direction, there is a problem that this transfer device may disadvantageously interfere with the shifted cassette to cause malfunction. Additionally, during the rotation of the turntable, the rotational trace of the cassette is extended due to the shift, so that another member of the cassette changer such as a casing or the like of the device interferes with the cassette to cause malfunction.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cassette changer prevents malfunction resulting from an offset of a cassette from its specified storing position in a stocker by means of a simple configuration.
To attain this object, a cassette changer according to the present invention comprises:
a stocker for storing a plurality of cassettes along a vertical direction of the cassette changer;
a recording/reproducing device for recording signals in the cassettes or reproducing signals from the cassettes;
a transfer device for transferring the cassettes between the stocker and the recording/reproducing device; and
a push-in member operating in response to movement of the transfer device in the vertical direction along the device in the stocker.
According to the present invention, even when the cassette changer is subjected to external vibration or impact to cause a cassette stored in the stocker to shift and project from its specified storing position to a position where the cassette disturbs the movement of the transfer device, the push-in member can push the cassette into the stocker in response to a moving operation of the transfer device, which is one of the basic operations of the cassette changer. Consequently, required mechanisms can be simplified, and malfunction can be prevented, that is, the cassette is prevented from disturbing the movement of the transfer device.